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Are Wars Good for any Country?
By Jeffrey ten Grotenhuis, Webmaster/Staff Writer
The Iraqi war so far has created a national debt of a few trillion
dollars. A war can boost the economy for a while; however, the
downside has longer-lasting effects. A war can only boost the
economy until the excitement dies down and it becomes an annoyance
to the public, especially if the cause is not easy to define. In
simple terms, this is what happens during a war: consumption rises
and with it, a need for production and employment is created; at the
same time however, other areas such as society and government are
aversely affected. Mark Thornton, Ph.D., argues that “Government,
inflation, and bad behavior thrive during war, while the economy,
culture, and our standard of living dies.” A war can make a
country’s economy run efficiently for a while, but it also changes
the government and society for the worse.
The effect of the Iraqi war on society has not been as
dramatic as that of the Cold War in its time, but unpopular changes
have already become a part of daily life in America. Remember when
Muslims and Arabs weren’t all terrorists? Or the years before 9/11
when it was ok to bring a nail-clipper or dental floss on-board a
plane? Patriotism makes this easier to bear, but some of these
changes never go away. “War is exhausting,” says senior Danielle
Buma. Not only that, government also increases in strength
during a war. Robert Higgs, Ph.D., created a thesis that bears his
name, “government grows during crises and
then retrenches afterwards, but not to the same level as before.”
Here he refers to crises in general, which include depressions,
disasters and wars. A few decades ago, during the Great Depression,
the government created laws that regulated businesses. Many of those
laws are still in place.
On a more personal level, wars aversely affect people.
Monty G. Marshall, who works for a U.N. research team on the effects
of war on society, comments, “Costs, traumas, inefficiencies, and
indirect effects associated with [war], whether for personal-safety,
logistic, predatory, retaliatory, or strategic policy
considerations, [affects] large numbers of domiciled people.” Senior
Beau Takagi showed interest in the subject, “Although it can
be good, usually it divides the country into those who support the
war and those who don’t.” Junior Jimmy Vlahos was more
eloquent in his response, “The present war in Iraq is a classic
example of how war can polarize a country. The American people have
been polarized into two distinct groups: those who oppose the war
and those who support it. A similar polarization has occurred in
American politics; the line in the sand for politicians has become
their stance on the war.”
The Iraqi war so far has not improved the economy, as
Mike Moffatt, Ph.D., explains, “Imagine that instead of dropping
bombs on Baghdad, the army was dropping refrigerators in the ocean.
The army could get the refrigerators in one of two ways: 1) They
could get every American to give them $50 to pay for the fridges. 2)
The army could come to your house and take your fridge.” Either way,
people lose. Junior Keon Kensey believes that the war “Is bad
for the economy; we’re paying billions of dollars for the war in
Iraq for some oil. It also destroys their country.” Leo, the
Italian foreign exchange student, shows the same mentality; he
believes that taxes increase to finance military goods and inflation
occurs when more money is printed for the same purpose.
The effects of war on the economy are instantaneous.
However, its influence on the government and society is often
gradual. The war on terrorism has increased discrimination, distrust
and the price of gas. Not to mention that it hasn’t achieved its
economic purpose.
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